The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God scoffed at the story of a Mississippi morning newscaster being fired for quoting hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg.
Barbie Bassett, who worked for decades as a news anchor, appears to have been fired by NBC affiliate WLBT for saying "fo’ shizzle my nizzle" on air during discussion about rapper Snoop Dogg. Bassett appeared unaware that the phrase "nizzle" is slang for the n-word.
Charlamagne expressed shock that she would be fired over something so trivial.
"She can’t say, ‘Fo shizzle, my nizzle?’ Oh, I guess cause nizzle is a derivative of n----. I’m saying that in context. I didn’t mean to say… I’m not using that word," Charlamagne clarified. "That’s why?"
"I don’t know if that’s fireable," DJ Envy commented.
"She might not even know what ‘Nizzle’ means," Charlamagne said. "I’m not like, come on, we got to like, stop, man. That’s not a reason to fire that woman."
Charlamagne went on to observe how hip-hop is so ubiquitous that absurd controversies happen like this.
"That’s the thing with hip hop, man. Hip-hop is so big and so mainstream, and it’s just like, who can consume it and who can’t? You know what I mean?" Charlamagne said. "Who can repeat slang and who can’t?"
DJ Envy noted that Bassett had been at that news station for twenty-plus years.
"Who can repeat slang and who can’t? How old is that woman, yo?" Charlamagne asked. "She might be old. She probably has no idea nizzle is a derivative of the N-word," Charlamagne said.
"She might not have any idea, she just thinks she sounded cool repeating Snoop Dogg," he added. "‘Fo’ shizzle my nizzle.’ That’s not a fireable offense. I hope she sues."
The station’s regional vice president and general manager Ted Fortenberry told the New York Post in a statement, "As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters."
